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Science and technology policies for industrialization of developing countries
Abstract
Science and technology have been increasingly looked upon by many countries, particularly the so-called developing countries, as the most important and powerful instruments for bringing about extensive economic growth. The development of a nation, however, neither starts nor ends with economic development alone. It should encompass much more than that if it is both to bear and to enjoy the fruits of economic development. This paper is not intended to dwell on the pros and cons of these conflicting views. Instead, we will discuss the policies and strategies of science and technology development in the industrialization of a developing country from a point of view of industrial growth as the prime source of impetus for national development.
... Lee et al. (2023) emphasized the importance of the South Korean government's innovation policy initiatives in economic development through the development and acquisition of technology. The government's direct selection of promising technologies and R&D investment played a key role in improving national competitiveness and increasing productivity (Choi, 1986;Lee, 1988), especially in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry. The government successfully expanded its science and technology innovation capacity and strengthened the private sector's innovation capacity. ...
Two major approaches in national research and development (R&D) planning, top-down and bottom-up, have been compared in academic research, and their differences and respective advantages have been ascertained. However, studies on which planning method is best for improving R&D efficiency are insufficient. South Korea, a country that spends a high portion of its budget on R&D, has changed the direction of its R&D planning from top-down to bottom-up to improve R&D efficiency. However, few studies have analyzed the impact of this change on R&D efficiency in an empirical way. This study analyzed the efficiency of the R&D planning method, which has yet to be evaluated ex post facto, using a two-stage data envelopment analysis with a focus on the South Korea’s information and communication technology sector. The results showed that government-led planning projects in the research stage, which requires systematic planning due to high uncertainty, can be more efficient than in the development stage, where uncertainty is low. This implies that systematic planning support for research subjects is required to effectively promote the bottom-up R&D method, while the prerequisites of the bottom-up approach must be ensured for it to have its advantages over the top-down approach.
... This SM can form a continuous loop in which the real world is subject to a constant comparison with a systems model equivalent. As noted by Checkland and Scholes (1999), the real world situation should be examined to find out if those activities necessary to give the defined system functionality are actually going on in practice. ...
The research objective is to develop system models of the university-industry collaboration (UIC) element of a national innovation system and to evaluate its potential as a framework to inform economic policies. A UIC system model for Iran was developed and applied to explore key policy concerns, current performance, and barriers to development. A mixed-method approach was used. Firstly, a survey was used to scope system elements from the input of 94 expert stakeholders and to establish related issues. An insight of the difference between university and industry actors’ views regarding problems of UIC effectiveness was also formed. Secondly, 25 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders were used for building the conceptual model of the UIC system. Quantitative data were analyzed with Mann–Whitney U test, and for analyzing interviews, theme analysis was applied. Analysis of the causal relationships in the UIC model indicated there are a range of barriers that maintain a predominant negative behaviour pattern that limits UIC performance. This negative equilibrium is manifest as significant lack of trust at all interfaces in the system. The systems model is a complex interaction of reinforcing loops that emphasizes the scale of challenge policy-makers face in creating effective UIC outcomes. A set of policy choices informs an improvement agenda for UIC activities in Iran. This method is a framework to address the current lack of effective approaches to aid understanding of the complexity of behavioural forces that can help politicians to form coherent policies that address often hidden systematic biases.
... For example, the government allowed R&D tax incentives for industry which either invested in research locally or obtained local know-how. But the policies had no penal or legal mandatory mechanisms, as in the case of South Korea (see Hyung-Sup Choi, 1986), t o effectively monitor the schemes of incentives and introduce new institutional schemes to expand the R&D base of the private and public sectors. A related problem in S&T organization and basic research funding was the lack of mechanisms for research accountability and evaluation systems for research predominantly funded by the public purse. ...
... As a result, there are other organizational constraints (like financial resource limitations, absence of business incubators within universities and research institution, lack of entrepreneurial skills, absence of institutional support and the negative attitude of industry and society towards local inventions), which now limit university abilities to carry out technology transfer efficiently with industrial companies or to commercialize the results of their research. Various adaptations (like movement of trained personnel into industrial and other occupations, co-authorships, etc.) have to be made in order to enable the university to fulfil prerequisites for efficient and successful collaborations with industry 24 . ...
The effective management of industry/university research linkages has always been a challenge - for both partners. Moreover, a greater understanding is required for the role that these partners can play in developing strong linkages between them, particularly through mechanisms such as liaison offices and technology parks. This paper will examine the role of such mechanisms for the case of Greece. Basing on interviews with individuals in technology transfer process between academia and industry, it will examine the role and function of Academic Liaison Offices and Technology Transfer Units. Moreover, the development of effective strategies which is a matter for serious concern will be proposed in order to bridge the gap between them. Finally, the addressed model, such as a combined bridge linking both partners is to promote the liaison between the two and to overcome the traditional university structures which have not been designed for technology transfer purposes but for research and education only.
... Government-coordinated R&D consortia are highly relevant to economies, particularly in "latecomer countries" such as Korea and Japan (Cho et al., 1998;Choi, 1986;Lee, 1988). In these countries, the collaboration within government-coordinated Technological Forecasting & Social Change 88 (2014) 202-215 R&D consortia is important in aggregating and consolidating potentially fragmented R&D efforts at the national level. ...
The role of government in forming and coordinating R&D consortia has often been cited in studies of the economic success of latecomer countries such as Korea and Japan. Most previous studies documented the government's efforts to provide funding. In our research about the government's role in determining the quality of innovation, we develop a computational model based on genetic algorithms. The two main aspects of government involvement explored in this study are 1) the timing of evaluation of participating firms in a consortium, and 2) the form that these consortia take. In terms of the timing of evaluation, we find that continuous evaluation is consistently superior to early evaluation. In addition, the effect of the form of the consortium depends on the timing of evaluation. An inverse pyramid arrangement, which emphasizes variation at the beginning of the innovation process, outperforms a pyramid-form arrangement only when evaluation is continuous. We identify the tension and reconciliation between diversity and selection as the force underlying the results of this study. We discuss these findings and their implications for how governments should balance diversity and selection when designing innovation systems.
... It has long been recognised that investment in science and technology makes a vital contribution to economic growth in terms of higher growth rate of the economy's productivity (see, for instance, Shultz 1953, Abramowitz 1956, Solow 1957, Denison 1962,Griliches 1958, 1986, among others). In addition to direct returns, the externalities associated with investment in science and technology have also been found to be huge (Abramovitz 1989). ...
In the transition of economic development, innovation is the key to sustainable development in future China, and it is also the only way to turn “Made in China” into “Made by China”. Innovation is embodied in the successful development and utilization of new ideas. Categories of innovation include product/service innovation, process innovation, technology innovation, and management innovation. In the age of knowledge economy, innovation is the silver bullet for companies to win in uncertain complex environments.
In latecomer countries, governments and their research laboratories play an important role in guiding the direction of technology development at the national level. However, the exact mechanism of how these institutional forces influence national collaborative R&D projects remains unclear and understudied. From the selection-variation process perspective of technology evolution, we argue that governments provide a strong signaling effect to attract other entities into collaborative R&D projects. Also through government research laboratories, governments promote a fair distribution of results generated from collaborative R&D projects. In addition, the involvement of diverse entities from industry and academia supplements the fair distribution of results. We provide empirical support for these arguments by analyzing 5,427 collaborative R&D projects carried out in South Korea among government research laboratories, private firms and universities. A conceptual model is developed and explained in detail to provide the theoretical basis for our arguments, while policy and practical implications are closely examined with a focus on steps that governments can take to guide national collaborative R&D projects.
Since World War II there has been a remarkable proliferation in the use of mathematical modeling under the labels of systems analysis, decision analysis, operations analysis, management science, and policy analysis. Technology forecasting, impact, and transfer have also reflected the trend. However, serious limitations are inherent in these reductionist approaches and they have created a serious gap between the model and the real-world decision maker. This discussion focuses on the problem and a means to overcome it.
In fifteen years, South Korea went from providing only 12% of rural households with electricity to providing 98% of rural households with electricity for lighting and productive uses. This paper provides an analysis of rural electrification and development in South Korea from 1965 to 1979 and finds that rural electrification contributed to a significant increase in rural household income levels and improved the quality of life in villages substantially. At the same time, rural electrification did not benefit the poorest quartile of rural households, increased economic and social inequality, led to a significant increase in household debt, and accelerated migration to urban areas. Central to the South Korean electrification experience was a top-down and a bottom-up approach that balanced local control and participation with central government control. This approach was crucial in overcoming many of the issues that continue to be found today in both grid-based and off-grid approaches to electrification.
This paper describes a case study of information systems strategy formation in a developing country bank over a five-year period. The methodological approach to the research combined a focus on the process of organizational decision making with analysis of the linkages between this process and the organizational and wider contexts. The case was characterized by major problems at all stages and corresponding stagnation in the computing systems, and the paper provides an understanding of this history. Some implications are drawn for strategic practice in developing country organizations and for research on the process of technology transfer.
This paper reviews the science and technology policy of India and Korea in a comparative perspective to draw relevant lessons for India. It shows that policies, strategies and struc tures of science and technology evolved under a planned development approach in both Korea and India. However, while Korea created a strong national innovation system and acquired phenomenal technological capabilities, India had vital links missing that weak ened the performance of this system and resulted in a poor R&D performance of firms in the industrial sector. Four conditions need to be satisfied for building an effective national innovation system: (a) strong competitive pressures on domestic firms; (b) the presence of high-quality human capital; (c) well-developed industry-institutes-academia links; and (d) access to foreign technologies. While Korea tailored its policies to accommodate these conditions in each stage of its development, India failed to evolve an appropriate mix of these critical ingredients. The paper proposes to adopt a more focused but a multidimen sional integrated approach to create technological dynamism within the country.
The on-coming age of changing technology and knowledge intensification, and its interactions with human values are expected to bring forth fundamental shifts in socioeconomic environment. The paper presents an overview of the dynamics of technological change, a hypothesis on productivity dynamics, and likely shifts in organizational structure. To cope with changes, organizational productivity has to be increasingly governed by human creativity and managerial effectiveness. The structure will be flatter, action-oriented, entrepreneurial, and, above all, flexible. By being organically alive, it will be different from conventional mechanical setups. The future will witness more of flexible manufacturing and flexible management systems and a change of emphasis from “management of technology” to “management of change”, governed by a multiperspective vision. The paper also analyzes major problems likely to be faced by developing countries in getting prepared for the future. In addition to their current focus on technological aspects, the Third World countries have to be seriously concerned about people and organizational issues.
The Korean experience in rapid technology development is examined. Government intervention to promote science and technology is reviewed. The Korean approaches to industrialization are seen as providing a basis for determination of the role of science and technology. Three main issues are discussed: institutional frameworks, legal systems, and manpower development. Long-term goals and strategies for the next 15 years are summarized.
The objective of this paper is to study how government-supported R&D institutes cooperate with the industrial sector to assist industrial technology development in developing countries. By investigating the case of the computer industry in Taiwan, the authors suggest a stage approach for industrial technology development. This approach emphasizes the implementation of technology, that is, R&D institutes should help industry to truly absorb and apply technology to improve their products or services to upgrade their overall industrial competitiveness. For developing countries, the key problems of industrial technology development are not only gaining technology but also implementing that technology in their own industrial context. This paper suggests that R&D institutes should closely coordinate with industry during the R&D procedures to make different technology implementation strategies at different developmental stages. The approach is based on three stages which respectively represent industrial technology capabilities at weak, medium or strong levels. Five strategies are discussed. To link the implementation strategies and the R&D procedures there are three critical factors to consider: commercialization capability; market timing; and industrial technology requirements. This approach shows how R&D institutes can effectively help industrial technology to develop step-by-step, thus upgrading technological capability and fostering overall industrial growth.
The science and technology policy perspectives followed by most developing countries during the 1980s exhibited enormous problems
in coping with the incoming economic reforms of liberalization, privatization and a changing international S&T scenaria. This
article critically explores the S&T policy perspectives of India, a typical example of a developing country. In an effort
to render the local scientific and technological capacities more meaningful and effective in relation to the market locale,
this article puts forward the concept of networking in S&T (TENs) as a “new” innovation strategy for S&T policies in the context
of developing countries.
The early years of space exploration were years of rivalry, panic and determination. Today, the question of having “a chance of beating the Soviets by putting a laboratory in space” or “any other space program which promises dramatic result in which we could win”, has passed on. The cooperative efforts of nations in the construction and operation of the International Space Station finally put an end to national ambition of states in space exploration. Emphasis is now on international cooperation and collaboration in journeys to the Moon, Mars and other destinations in the solar system. However, a question that needs to be asked is, “to what extent do the space-faring countries of Africa collaborate and cooperate among themselves and/or with other technologically developed nations of the world in the exploration and development of the space frontiers?” This work traces briefly the history of space exploration, dwelling more on “space age” and “space race”. It discusses international cooperation drawing emphasis from the United Nations Charter and other documents dwelling on international cooperation. It further talks about the benefits of international cooperation, using the International Space Station as a case study. It then focuses on the space programs of the space-faring and developing countries of Africa and the need for them to collaborate and cooperate among themselves and with other technologically developed nations of the world. It ends with a conclusion and some recommendations.
This research focuses on analyzing the two prime science and technology (S&T) strategy approaches for industrial evolution based on the concept of S&T gap, namely, the optimist and pragmatist approaches. Particularly, the cases of global IC, pharmaceutical, and computer industries, are used to make cross-national and cross-industrial comparison of these two approaches. The optimist approach is developed based on the product life cycle theory which envisions technology transcending everyday limitations. With this perspective, market demand is the most critical factor in selecting the S&T strategy approaches. The pragmatist approach is formed based on the new trade theory which recognizes the power of science and technology but seeks to fit it into structures that already exist, and government must manage resources pouring into science and technology. Case studies of global IC, pharmaceutical, and computer industries during the 2nd half of the 20th century are used as research targets to reflect policy impacts on the technological evolution. The results of this study reveal that, strategy approaches have to be adapted and turned to the specific stage, technology level, and market segment that have been selected for intervention. This result of comparison also offers the criteria of strategy selection for developing different industry based on distinct national base.
Emphasizes the importance of a science policy which assigns the
highest priority to stimulating and supporting science education and
research. The impact of such a policy on economic growth is discussed,
and in this context, the policies of developed and developing countries
are compared. Strategies and policies for developing countries are
compared and the best ones are recommended. The state of engineering
education in Turkey is summarized and compared with the American
curriculum, as exemplified by electrical engineering
A movement for rural industrialization in Korea
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